Thanks folks, I appreciate your suggestions. I did take the XD9 to one Gunsmith who would not accept the gun because he could not promise not to scratch or gouge it when removing the old sights. I think shipping the slide to Springer may be the smartest move. According to other owners, the Springfield factory is taking up to 6 months to "fix" problems and get the guns back to owners. That's not terribly encouraging news.

Certified Glock Armorer
Combine ignorance, arrogance and low altitude, and the result is guaranteed to be spectacular.

SRO1911 wrote:
Since I had absolutely no intention of re using the sights i simply used a cut-off wheel in a dremel to take a slice across them, then a few light taps with a punch.

That's exactly what I had to do to remove the front sight on my Ruger 10/22 Takedown. I cut almost all the way down through the sight. I didn't want to cut deep enough that I might accidentally cut into the dovetail, so I stopped about 1/16th of an inch short. After the cut, it tapped out pretty easily.

After checking the fit of the new sight, I buttered up both the sight and the dovetail with blue Locktite and tapped it in.

Facts are stubborn things; and whatever may be our wishes, our inclinations, or the dictates of our passions, they cannot alter the state of facts and evidence. - John Adams

When I had my XD I took it to a gunsmith to get it done and it was well worth the money. He tried the usual sight pusher etc. and had to resort to cutting the sight off. I remember the rear sight was the hardest. Getting the new sights on was easy. After that he said he wasn't going to do XD sights anymore.